A Stranger at the Door
by charz.the.manga.alchemist
Summary: Young Ed and Al are told by their mother not to answer the door when she goes out. Guess what they do? Based on an urban legend by the same name.


**Hi, Charz here! I haven't written an urban legend story for a loooooong time. So I started with something pretty simple.  
This one is 'A Stranger at the Door', which teaches little kids to obey their parents when they say to not answer the door... . .**

**Anyway, enjoy! :)**

* * *

"You two had better be responsible tonight while I'm gone." Trisha sighed, giving the boys a hug.

"Don't worry mum, you can count on us!" Edward boasted, Alphonse nodding in agreement.

"I know I can." Trisha said, smiling before grabbing her handbag.

"I'll be back soon. Remember: No using the stove or the oven, no finger-painting on the walls or answering the phone 'City Morgue', Edward." She listed, directing the last part toward Ed, who smiled sheepishly.

"And do NOT answer the door under any circumstances. Not even for Winry." She finished.

Trisha kissed 7-year-old Edward and 6-year-old Alphonse good-bye, before walking out the front door and closing it behind her.

* * *

"Brother, this is boring, and it's already been half an hour since mum left. Can we do something else?" Al whined, becoming more and more annoyed that his brother kept beating him at Go Fish.

"Fine, but what else could we do? I mean, it's already seven o'clock." Ed replied, putting his cards together and dropping them in the space in front of him.

The brothers thought for a bit, Edward playing with a stray piece of golden hair. Alphonse stared at the wall in deep thought.

"I know! We could watch some movies!" Al suggested, jumping up from his spot on the floor.

"Okay, but they have to be scary movies. No baby movies like 'The Lion King'." Ed replied, folding his arms in defiance.

Alphonse looked bothered by this, but didn't say anything. Ed saw this and smiled.

"Don't worry. You can sit on the big couch next to me if you want to." Ed reassured him, getting up off the floor and making his way to the living room.

"Thank you, brother!" Alphonse replied, walking after Edward.

* * *

After sorting through the assortment of movies and picking a few, the brothers got themselves some snacks, turned off the lights and put on 'Nightmare on Elm St'.

Edward smiled and Alphonse turned away as Freddy Kruger snared another victim.

Ed looked over to Al, and seeing he was so scared, put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be scared, Al." He said, wearing a massive grin. "It's not real, so he can't get us."

Al looked up to his brothers face, and seeing the grin he wore, he started to smile.

"I guess you're right, brother." He said, continuing to watch the movie.

"C'mon brother, let's go to sleep." Alphonse mumbled sleepily, tugging on Edward's sleeve.

"Alright, fine." Ed replied, reluctantly turning off the TV and pushing himself off the couch.

They walked down the dark hallway and up the stairs, which creaked under the boy's small weight. Al felt a shiver crawl up his spine, but kept walking.

* * *

Alphonse woke to the sound of knocking, coming from down the hall.

"Wha' time is it...?" He slurred, searching for a clock.

He found the small alarm clock and saw it was just after 1:00am. He carefully placed the clock back on the bedside table and turned to Edward, who was fast asleep and snoring softly.

The knocking stopped, but continued again shortly after.

"It sounds like it's kinda urgent. Maybe I should check..." Al whispered to himself, pulling his sheets off him and sliding out of bed.

'But mum said that we can't answer the door! Not even for Winry!' Al thought, shaking his head.

After a short mental debate about whether to investigate or not, Al climbed back into his warm bed, pulled the covers up and fell asleep.

* * *

"Brother... Brother, wake up." Al whispered, shaking Edward by the shoulders.

"Al, what's up? Did you have a bad dream again?" Ed mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"No, someone keeps knocking on the door. I'm scared, brother." Al answered, holding tight onto Ed's arm.

Then, as if to prove his point, the knocking started again, only louder. Ed sighed and went to slide out of bed, but his legs were tangled in the sheets. There was a loud _thud_ as he hit the floor.  
Ed got up, rubbing his forehead where his face connected with the floorboards.

"You wait here, I'm gonna go see who it is." He said, untangling himself.

"But mum said not to answer the door for anyone at all! What if she finds out?" Al protested, tugging absent-mindedly on his sleeve.

"Don't worry, Al. I won't be long, I'm only going to open the curtain to see who's knocking." Ed replied, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. "Just stay here. I'll be back before you know it!"

The stairs creaked and moaned as Edward slowly made his way down to the first floor of their house. The moonlight intruding from the windows cast eerie shadows across the walls, while the knocking continued echoing through the hallways.

"Hold your frikkin' horses! I'm coming!" Ed said loudly as he made his way through the kitchen, staring at the front door down the hall.

As he walked, Ed grabbed a discarded rolling pin from a bench, mentally preparing himself for a fight.

After making his way through the kitchen, hall and lounge rooms, he places a small, quivering hand on the brass handle and slowly twisted. He quickly pulled open the door and closed his eyes, scared of what might be there. Although, after opening his eyes again, he found that no one was there.

"Hmm, must've been a tree or something..." Ed mumbled, shrugging and closing the door.

Before turning around, he heard something that made his blood run cold.

"Hello there, little boy."

* * *

It felt like forever to him, but a little while later, Al started getting worried.

'It doesn't take very long to walk to the front door and back. What if something happened?' He wondered, his train of thought automatically turning to the worst possible outcome.  
Alphonse shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts, dismissing them as things that would never happen.

He slowly lowered himself off the side of the double bed and silently started down the hallway, searching for his brother.

"Brother, where are you?" He whispered into the darkness, hoping for a reply, even if it was a little whisper.

Donning the armour helmet he had left in the hallway a few days ago, he mustered up all his courage and walked toward the front door. With a shaking hand, he turned the knob and reefed the door open, only to find no one there.

'I don't want to leave Brother alone, but maybe I should go to Winry's.' Al thought, taking a single step outside.

'I mean, he's tough. He can look after himself! He looks out for me, so how bad can it be?' Al reasoned, fully stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

The concrete under his feet was chilling as a shiver made its' presence known moving up his spine, as he slowly made his way up the long path to Winry's house.

* * *

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Winry yelled, running at Alphonse, who had just entered the house.

Winry pulled him into a bone-crushing hug that left Al gasping for air.

"Why are you glad that I'm okay? Did something happen?" Al asked, getting awkward looks as a reply.

"On the news, not too long ago, a man got spotted in this area coming out of a person's house that he had murdered. We didn't know if you'd heard or not." Pinako replied, putting a hand on Al's shoulder.

"Yeah, the news reporter said to keep your doors and windows closed and to not open your door to anyone." Winry added, taking a step toward him.

"But... That means..." Alphonse mumbled, before realisation dawned on him.

Al ran out the front door and sprinted up to his house, fear clearly written on his face.

* * *

He heard the front door open with a crash, and Alphonse calling out his name.

"Al... Phonse? That you?" Edward breathed, blinking to rid himself of the fogginess in his vision.

"Sorry, 'Edward', but it's too late for you. And once I'm done with you, I'm goin' after your little brother." A deep voice said, a low chuckle resounding around Ed's skull.

"No! Leave him alone!" Ed demanded, yet only in a whisper.

Only silence greeted him.

"Please. He's my only little brother..." He pleaded, only being greeted with more silence.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrap themselves around his waist and pick him up.  
A short while later, he felt himself being thrown onto something soft and bouncy, much like his own bed. But this feeling was short lived when a sharp, unbearable pain made itself known in his chest before everything faded away.

"Brother! Where are you? Edward!" Al yelled, running through the house in his desperate search.

He bolted up the stairs to the second story and ran to their bedroom. He stopped in the doorway, eyes setting themselves upon a figure underneath bed sheets. Al breathed a sigh of relief, quietly walking in the dark room, up to his sleeping brother.

"Brother, wake up. We need to go." Al said softly, shaking Ed's shoulder.

Al frowned when he noticed something was off about his brother. He pushed Ed over onto his back and immediately noticed a large patch of black over the lighter black of the pitch dark room. The sharp tang of copper hit his nostrils, Al's mind putting all the pieces into place.

"Brother! You need to wake up! Please!" Al repeated, shaking Ed harder.

Tears welled in his eyes as he continued to shake his brother's shoulders, his head lolling to the side each time he stopped.

"Brother! EDWARD! PLEASE!" Al pleaded, but to no avail.

Outside, Winry and Pinako heard a blood-curdling scream pierce the still night air.

* * *

**All done! Watchya think? Please R&R, flames will be used to cook waffles! :D**


End file.
